The Next Major Challenge

The Next Major Challenge

The Next Major Challenge

John R. Daley

June 19, 2009

Seasoned companies either fail during a recession, ownership transition or during growth.
So we have survived the economic collapse.  We are battered and torn, less talent, less capacity, reduced cash reserves and fewer customers buying less… but we are still upright!  Just anemic.  We get to choose how this continues. 

The next potential cliff to beat will be the growth and hyper inflation phase.  In order to compete we will have to reinvent ourselves to make up for lost sales due to customer value changes.  Customer buying patterns are probably changed for the long term.   Markets are consolidating and evolving. We have to reinvent our offering to earn business.  That means market analysis is required which takes time, talent and money. Our cash reserves were used to make up for a loss of 40 to 60 percent of our normal profits so we have to rebuild our reserves.   Inflation will mean that the reduced cash reserves you have will be worth less.  Bank loans are few and far between even if you had predicable sales and assets in demand.  Asset based loans are available at about 8 to 12 percent if you have unencumbered assets and predictable cash flow.  Mezzanine loans are available at about 16 to 18%, Wow! They do have a place.

We are truly back to the basics of lending:  Appropriate Collateral, Target Market, Competitive Advantage, Strong Business Plan and a Strong Management Team that can deliver despite the market challenges.  Money is available for those prepared and that know where to look.

Some of us are about to run a marathon and we are anemic.  We just have difficulty admitting we don’t know what we don’t know.  

During this recovery the strong and financially well off companies will be sourcing contractor and employee top talent, preparing for growth.  Some are planning to grow organically and some are shopping for deals on capacity, customer lists, mergers and acquisitions.   The best are analyzing the markets to see were their capabilities will earn them profitable sales.  Where can they pick off weaker players?  Our freshman year of business school we were taught that was called asset and resource reallocation to more efficient uses. We will truly see who has what it takes and chooses success. 

The bottom line is you will either be a more efficient and stronger competitor or have more efficient stronger competitors.  You will either have cash, talent and capacity to compete or you will be running the marathon anemic.  The next few months will truly tell who will survive and thrive!
My take away from all this besides all of the above, never forget the cycles, they are just like the seasons, plan for them!

How do you attract and keep talent?

How do you attract and keep talent? Talent will seek the place where they are seen as an asset, not an expense. They want 5 years of experience, not 1 year of experience 5 times. So that means they are looking for training and mentoring. The best talent will always find the place where they are happy (positive culture) and they can grow professionally and personally.

Looking for a High Performance Team?

Pubished February 13, 2006

Looking for a High Performance Team?

Coach Daley

As a business coach I watch business organizations as a student.  I'm always looking for the unique characteristics of successful (or unsuccessful) organizations and as you know it usually boils down to leadership.  Nothing new… right?  Look at sports; you can have great players and a manager that struggle to win.  What about the gold medal winning US Hockey team with an outstanding coach but no superstars? One manager can be the biggest hindrance to success and that would be the "tribal manager".  (The Strategic Partnering Handbook) 

Remember, "Leaders" create a vision and are enthusiastically followed:
"Leadership is the art of getting someone else to do something you want done because he wants to do it." Dwight D. Eisenhower"Leaders create an environment where teams thrive and produce beyond even their expectations, managers without leadership skills stress teams out and so production is work, people do only do the minimum not to get fired and struggle to do that much." Coach Daley"The first responsibility of a leader is to define reality.  The last is to say thank you.   In between, the leader is a servant." Max De Pree
"Managers" struggle with a sincere "thank you", because it could go to their subordinates head, make them think they are more important than they are to the manager, after all the subordinate is just completing tasks...their job... right?  "Managers" dictate, intimidate and do things themselves. Why would they do things themselves?  First to show the team they are not needed just tolerated.  And secondly to show their superiors they can do the job themselves, matter a fact, they believe the team is taking the credit they should have.  If they feel the superior is questioning who is the hero the manager will show them by doing the task themselves or moving some else to do it.  It's just a task. This makes perfect sense if you consider they see their job as their career development,  as the organization and implementation of tasks not leadership and development of people.  They are the "alpha male" or female, they are always jockeying for political position and competing with their own team to show they are the superior and the manager.  The scary thing with these managers is that they don't see this behavior. They tend to be very insecure and hence "Alpha males" are dangerous to any up and comers they see as a threat, how many future leaders can your organization afford to lose?  My dad used to say watch what people do, not what they say.  He must have had these managers in mind.  Bottom line, first on their priority list is their status, second is positioning for their career growth, and last is tasks. People are necessary evils they have to put up with.  These managers look at their subordinates from their (the manager) perspective. These managers love the line "Salary Continuation Plan!"  "You should be glad to have your job." "Stay below the radar screen and complete your tasks as I laid them out!"  "I can replace you tomorrow!"

If companies are successful due to people and they spend big bucks and time to hire the right people for the right jobs, create an environment for success (for each particular person) and reward them for successful performance (in a manner they see as a reward) than the above managers are not indicative of a successful company are they? 

Consider a couple of facts:
·       Most people leave do to their managers!
·        Bad employees don't quit, where would they go?
·        Leadership starts at the top and the corporate culture helps sustain Leadership (the opposite is also true)

Do you have a leadership problem?Is it costing you a high performance team?
In our workshops we teach to constantly observe, not to judge to quickly.  Things are never black and white.  Having said that ask yourselves the following questions and see if you have a trend that is costing your organization maximum performance and limiting your bottom line.

1. Usually about 20% of your team will be self starters that should excel with minimal leadership so these are the people to watch.  If they are stressed then you might have a leadership problem.
2. If you call a meeting of one of your leaders teams and they can not or will not speak openly you may have a leadership problem?
1. Manager could be jockeying for political position and does not want that impacted by his or her necessary evils!
3. Do you as a manager enjoy reaching visions through people or do you wish you could just do it yourself?
1. You could be a driver?
2. You could be an entrepreneur that just needs to grow to leadership or find a leader.
4. Ask your manager what motivates their team, what are their individual goals? If you have a leadership problem these managers will tell you what "should" motivate their team, not what does! Ask for specifics of each teammate. 
5. Has the manager found a way to align the teammate’s goals with the organizational goals?  
6. How are the teammates coming with their goal attainment? 
7. Would a 360 survey be helpful? Click here
8. Do you want to be a leader but feel you are just a manager?  Would you like to start on the journey to be a leader?  It takes knowledge, experience and then skill: Click here
1. Are your managers coachable? Or do they tell you that you just don't understand?
2. Can they be developed into leaders of teams? 

Do you possibly have a leadership problem?  Is it costing you at the bottom line?  Would you like to learn more?  http://www.daleygroup.com/